Lars Wallentin, MD: Will ticagrelor be safer and more efficacious than prasugrel and clopidogrel?

Dr. Lars Wallentin of Sweden, PI for the PLATO trial, discusses the data on the new platelet inhibitor ticagrelor made by AstraZeneca. The data promise to make the drug not only more efficacious than Effient (prasugrel) or Plavix (clopidogrel), but also safer. Ticagrelor is the first reversible drug of its class and also the first to show a mortality benefit. Being short-acting and reversible means that if a patient needs CABG surgery, they can still undergo the procedure without bleeding complications seen with Effient.